It’s hard to miss Hilton Carter. Yes, the plant lover, author, and interior stylist is a big guy (6’5” to be exact) but he also just seems to be everywhere these days. On the Today show bantering with Craig Melvin and Al Roker; recording his podcast, Inside Hilton’s Head; and on Instagram (@hilton-carter) talking plant care, styling tips, and dad life to his 680,000 followers.

The fact that he has a few hours to spend at Artifact Coffee—looking fashion forward and fresh as usual in a philodendron-green terrycloth shirt, baseball cap with an embroidered H, and Birkenstock Boston clogs—almost seems impossible. There’s a calmness to him—and an ease that, yes, comes with age (he’s 45)—as well as a sense that he’s finally letting himself exhale.

This gigantic wave he’s been riding is, in fact, his career and not a passing fad about to crash ashore.

Unfurled: Designing a Living Home is Carter’s sixth book and his most personal one yet. “It’s like a diary,” says Carter. All 208 pages are filled with photos of his family—wife Fiona Vismans and daughters Holland and Vada—and delves into the rooms of their Roland Park house, which Carter has painstakingly renovated, styled, and photographed.

“Creating a home takes time. It can be slow and requires a lot of patience, planning, deliberation, and intentional decision-making. But eventually, given love and thought and care, that home will unfurl to reveal its true beauty,” Carter writes in the foreword, explaining his book title.

Although a majority of Carter’s fans probably don’t have a Baltimore ZIP code—he’s in the big league now—reading Unfurled through a local lens makes it an even cooler experience.

Carter was born at Johns Hopkins Hospital in 1979 and grew up around drugs and violence. “I didn’t see much of an escape from that,” he says. His family moved to Essex when he was 10, which changed the trajectory of his life. Carter played football for the Middle River Renegades and made a lot of friends. The kids liked that he was different (read: artistic). He joined art clubs and took classes at the local community college before enrolling at Carver Center for Arts and Technology’s visual arts program.

He headed to Maryland Institute College of Art (graduating in 2002), then moved to California to attend graduate school at the ArtCenter College of Design for film—an art form he saw as the next natural step in visual storytelling. He learned all the different parts of filmmaking, but what really stuck out for him was production design. He loved the idea that the set was telling a bigger story—an idea that has stuck with him to this day.

In 2011, when work for a freelance film project took him to Glen Mills, Pennsylvania, someone suggested he check out Terrain, a shop and restaurant owned by Anthropologie that blurred the line between home and garden. It was a light-bulb moment for Carter.

“If I ever have the means, I’m going to start bringing plants in,” he thought.

Three years later, when Carter moved to New Orleans for work and his apartment in the French Quarter offered a big, sun-soaked space, he purchased a five-foot-tall fiddle leaf fig tree he named Frank. Carter’s plant knowledge came about gradually over time. He visited greenhouses, asked lots of questions, and, most importantly: He listened. A friend’s mom taught him about propagation—the process of growing new plants from the cuttings of other plant parts. He was hooked.

When Carter moved back to Baltimore in 2015, he schlepped Frank with him. (He now resides in Carter’s Parkdale studio in Woodberry.) Three years later, Carter married Vismans, whom he famously met when she knocked on his door to tell him his loud music was making her next-door apartment vibrate. He apologized with a snake plant.

In the seven years since, they’ve become parents twice and bought their forever dream home. And while working on another book (shelved for now) he and his publishers noticed how much his followers reacted, commented, and “liked” his posts about home-styling.

“Would you ever consider making a styling book?” they asked. He couldn’t say yes fast enough.

For Carter it felt a bit like coming back to his roots of storytelling through design. Each section of the book—broken up by room—is about not just making an area stylish but the “why,” from concept and mood board to plan and layout to furniture and plants (yes, there are still plants, of course).

“We chose this home because we were ready to start a family, so when the time came to design and style it, I thought about how family life might evolve over time,” Carter writes. “That vision has guided many of my decisions, because, for me, the first step in designing a living home is to ensure that the choices made are practical ones, rooted in everyday life.”

This is what makes the book so relatable. Yes, Carter’s home is a designer’s dream—warm, modern, and chic—but it’s also clear that two little girls live there. Carter spends two chapters writing about Vada’s calm nursey and Holland’s toddler room, with its Technicolor mural painted by Carter, with input from his daughter. He’s a big believer in getting kids “involved in the creation and styling” of their rooms, while still being the ultimate decision-maker.

In between dreamy photographs of his kitchen, sunroom, and guest room (swoon) he also talks about the less sexy rooms, like a closet—but with an I-Can’t-Believe-This-Is-My-Life aura that keeps the book from becoming boastful and arrogant.

“I never thought much about the closet, other than its use for storing my clothing or hiding a mess when I was quickly trying to tidy my room,” he says. “But I can’t say the same for my mother. When I was a child, I would often hear her fantasize out loud about having a large closet. Not just one where you could hang your winter coats like those big, puffy winter coats. No, more like a closet that you could walk right into, pirouette, then walk back out. That, my friends, is what my mother would call Special, with a capital ‘S.’ Many people would just call it a walk-in closet, but in her eyes, it epitomized status and success,” he writes in the book.

“I’m very lucky to have the life that I have,” says Carter over coffee. “Look at my house—this is the piece of paradise that I wanted to carve out for myself, and I now have it.”

That’s the message he wants this new book to convey. Home is just about creating a space that makes you feel your best. Carter says it’s more important than ever to create your own paradise at home.

“The chaos that is outside you can’t control. But inside the walls where you live, you can control that space, right? So, all the things that you’re having in there, they should be things that you absolutely love.”

And because this is Carter, he can’t resist a good plant metaphor.

“I always talk about the joys of seeing a new leaf growing. It’s like, ‘Oh shit, this plant is thriving, it’s pushing out, and growing.’” But there’s always that moment when you don’t know how it’s going to unfurl, he says. “You have no idea what you’re about to get when it comes to, like, a Monstera. You never know how many splits you might get. You might get none. You might get a few. You might get holes. You have to just wait and see what’s going to happen.”

This isn’t just a story about his book title, but about putting himself (home and family) out there with his first truly vulnerable book.

“There might be something that disrupts the unfurl, which then alters the shape of that leaf. I’ve had that many times, where I had a leaf get stuck as it’s unfurling,” he says. Sometimes it just needs a little tug or redirecting, he believes. “So, the idea of a home being unfurled just means it’s slowly showing its beauty and its full potential.”

Sounds like he’s talking about his own journey, too.

IN: Soft yellow.

OUT: Burgundy and camel of seasons past.

—Ray Mitchener, owner of Ruth Shaw

IN: Effortless, boho-inspired peasant blouse.

OUT: Teeny tiny going-out tops.

—Brittany Parry, owner of Match Made Boutique

IN: Simple sustainable skin care routine that you can keep up with.

OUT: A 20-step skin care routine you learned off of TikTok that costs most of your paycheck.

—Annie Demczak, @anniedemm

IN: Shopping small and vintage, and repeating outfits that you love.

OUT: Fast fashion and only wearing things once.

—Rachel Mulherin, jewelry designer

IN: Disposable cameras.

OUT: Capturing every moment on your phone with no real intention.

—Hilton Carter, plant and interior stylist and author

IN: Tried and true T-shirt dress.

OUT: Floral, flashy sundresses.

—Kalilah Wright, founder of Mess in a Bottle

IN: Nike Air Max shoes—95 or 97 will do.

OUT: Nike Dunks—they were cool until they weren’t.

—DDM, musician and rapper

IN: Home decor that lightens the mood.

OUT: Stuffy status tchotchkes.

—Julie Lilienfeld, owner of Wishbone Reserve

In keeping with his totally surreal and dazzling life, it’s apt that the last person Hilton Carter hugged—aside from his wife—was Food Network icon Rachael Ray. You know, one of those pre-lockdown hugs when you could wrap your arms around someone and really lean into it. Carter was in New York City in early March promoting his book Wild Interiors: Beautiful Plants on The Rachael Ray Show.

The train ride from Baltimore’s Penn Station that early Wednesday morning had been eerily empty, his first real indication that this COVID-19 thing was getting serious, and Ray’s producers informed him when he arrived that there would be no studio audience. So Carter acted as the lone non-staff audience member until Ray called him down for his segment. “What? Is this The Price is Right?” he joked at the time. He and Ray talked about self-watering hacks and using pencil shavings to keep bugs off plants. After the show, he boarded the train back to Baltimore and has only ventured out of Maryland once since.

But Carter—with his familiar scraggly beard, hip hats, and easy-going style—has been doing a lot more than just watering his 250 (give or take) plants these past 11 months. He and his wife, Fiona Vismans, a dentist, bought—and are renovating—their first home, they created a tight-knit pod of friends to survive quarantine, and Carter wrote his third book. “I had nowhere to go,” laughs Carter. “I figured I should spend it making a book—with a few breaks to puzzle.”

Carter and his publishers realized that while many special events were canceled and businesses suffered this past year, plant ownership exploded. Some folks got pandemic puppies, others ended up with a fiddle-leaf fig or philodendron. “For me, it’s a beautiful thing to see,” says Carter—who has almost half a million followers on Instagram. “There was a time when I was the oddball in the group. Now, it’s a normal way of living—bringing the greenery into your space.”

Maybe it’s the need to bring the outside in. Maybe it’s the satisfaction of keeping something alive during such a dire time. It’s that, says Carter, and more. “Plants make you step away from the noise and craziness,” he says. That’s one of the ideas behind his new book, out this spring—Wild Creations: Inspiring Projects to Create Plus Plant Care Tips & Styling Ideas for Your Own Wild Interior.

“I think Hilton resonates with so many people because he has a fresh, contemporary take on houseplants,” says Cindy Richards, his publisher with Ryland Peters & Small and CICO Books. “He is different than most dry horticulturalists who will tell you the best plants to grow but don’t tell you how to live and love your plants or how to integrate them into your life. In Hilton’s world, you become a plant parent.”

Carter takes that role as plant guardian seriously, and the book is his chance to teach so others don’t stumble. Carter’s knowledge came about organically (as it were) over time. He visited plant shops, asked questions, and listened. A friend’s mom was into the fact that this 30-something suddenly liked plants, and she taught him about propagation—the process of growing new plants from the cuttings of other plant parts. But it was mostly trial and error, says Carter. The idea is “not to shame people or to make them feel bad but to give them a peek into the indoor jungle that I built and the lessons that I learned.”

That’s the way Carter does life, too. “Everything I’ve come to know is through being a child of this city,” he says. Carter—born at Johns Hopkins Hospital in 1979—grew up around drugs and violence. “I didn’t see much of an escape from that.”

But his childhood was also filled with happy memories of cartoons, cereal, lots of cousins, and friends. “When I was in it, I never thought about how negative it was,” he says. “It didn’t seem bad to me until I got a taste of what other kid’s childhoods were like.” A severe stutter also meant Carter spent a lot of his formative years keeping quiet and avoiding any sort of public speaking in class. “It made me uncomfortable and killed my confidence,” he remembers. His family moved to Essex when he was 10, which changed the direction of his life.

“It was my first time having a relationship with white people and seeing how white people lived,” he says. “And it was the first time I learned there is a course after dinner called dessert.” Carter played football for the Middle River Renegades and made a lot of friends. The kids liked that he was different—and artistic.

“PLANTS MAKE YOU STEP AWAY FROM THE NOISE AND THE CRAZINESS.”

“From the first day I can remember I wanted to be an artist,” says Carter. “Tears would come out of my eyes if I couldn’t figure out something to draw.”

He would sketch caricatures of his grandma—rollers in her hair, wearing a muu- muu, a cigarette in her hand. “I’m sure my grandmother was like, ‘I hate these drawings,’” he laughs. But she indulged him and slowly his confidence grew. He would run around the neighborhood with friends—always home by the time the streetlights came on—and started to notice girls. Approaching girls was tricky because of his stutter, but he would practice his opening line over and over until the words “would fall right out of my mouth.” He joined art clubs and took classes at the local community college before enrolling at Carver Center for Arts and Technology’s visual art program.

“I loved painting and telling a story,” he says. He would produce big self-portraits, but in a classical Renaissance style. By the time he was accepted to MICA, his stutter was all but gone. “I felt comfortable in my skin and kept challenging myself.” He graduated in 2002 and was selected by his class to be the student speaker at commencement.

After college, Carter moved to California to attend grad school for film—an artform he saw as the next natural step in visual storytelling. He learned all the different parts of filmmaking—directing, cinematography, even craft services—but what really stuck out for him was production design. He loved the idea that the set was telling a bigger story. “It was an additional character,” he says. In 2011, a freelance film project took him to Glen Mills, Pennsylvania, and someone suggested he check out Terrain, a shop and restaurant—owned by Anthropologie—that merged the idea of house and garden.

“I walked into the garden cafe and was blown away,” says Carter. “There was something in that space that felt so right.” It was the plants. They were hanging from every surface—the ceiling, the walls, on the tables. It was a lightbulb moment for Carter. “If I ever have the means, I’m going to start bringing plants in,” he thought.

Three years later, when Carter moved to New Orleans for work and his apartment in the French Quarter offered a big, sun-soaked space, he purchased a five-foot tall fiddle-leaf fig tree from Harold’s Plants on Press Street. “I didn’t know what I was doing, but I’d say it was transformative,” he says. He named the plant Frank and brought him home with him when he moved back to Baltimore in 2015. “He’d like a little more light,” says Carter of the now 14-foot beast. “But he’s still loving life.”

And so is Carter. A big part of that is because of Vismans, whom Carter married in 2018. The two met when she knocked on his door to tell him his loud music was making her adjacent apartment vibrate. It was a classic meet cute—as they went from adversaries to sweethearts. The two eventually eloped to Tulum for a private cenote ceremony in the jungle.

Five months later, they gathered at Heron Room with 120 friends and family and celebrated again with lots of cacti and ferns from Carter’s personal collection and tacos and margaritas from Clavel. “There hasn’t been a better spouse or partner,” says Carter.

Writing a book while quarantined actually sounds like a great plan. But in Carter’s case, when your tome is supposed to be full of visual how-tos and collaborations with other creative types, COVID proved to be challenging. Carter was able to reach inside his small pandemic bubble and tap Jamie Campbell Bynum, co-founder of Shine Creative TV and Homesy House interior design studio, as the project’s assistant stylist. (“I felt like Kamala when Joe asked her to be his vice president,” jokes Bynum.)

Everything they did was photographed in either Carter’s house and studio or at Bynum’s home. It wasn’t quite the soaring spaces that Carter had envisioned, but the limitations ended up being an inspiration. “Not everyone has eight-by-four foot windows in their homes,” says Carter. So using different rooms—bedrooms, bathrooms—they created projects that were also practical for small spaces or ones with little-to-no light source.

“Hilton’s a natural, super-gifted stylist and artist with a keen vision and unwavering work ethic,” says Bynum, whose husband, Drury, designed the cover of the book. “He gets up super early and works his ass off, non-stop all day. He responds and speaks to his social media followers in a way that they truly feel part of his world—and his world is green and jungly and kind and alive. I think people really sense his genuine love for plants.”

That unpretentiousness seems to be Carter’s special sauce. He’s been interviewed by Newsweek, The Washington Post, The New York Times, Dwell, and Essence magazine. He’s been featured on HGTV and Apartment Therapy, LA Magazine, Cup of Jo, and countless other blogs. He’s a genuine, nice guy and in demand. He has managed to take a “side hustle”—as he calls it—and turn it into a real job with sponsorships, a strong voice in the plant world, and opportunities that are endless. In short, he’s made plant ownership sexy. But he wants more.

“You have to say it to the universe,” Carter says. So he says it out loud: Maybe a Netflix travel show where he visits beautiful green spaces. Maybe a line of Hilton Carter home goods? “If I’m not on a TV show, if I haven’t collaborated with a really big brand, if my name isn’t on the pot that you have your plant in—I haven’t done my job.”

Tucked in the corners of many of our favorite stores are designs and handmade products—hidden charms, one may call them—from makers living right next door.

Visual Art

Voices: Joyce J. Scott, Oletha DeVane, Christopher Bedford
Don’t miss your chance to hear from two of the guiding voices of the Baltimore art scene, jewelry maker and sculptor Joyce J. Scott (who was recently named the 2019 Smithsonian Visionary Artist) and multimedia artist Oletha DeVane. In this conversation moderated by BMA director Christopher Bedford, the pair will discuss their works, their inspirations, and the city they both call home. 7-8 p.m. April 10. Church of the Redeemer, 5603 N. Charles St.

TAPROOT
Two artists with varying backgrounds but shared experiences meet in this exhibition examining colonialism, consumption, and how they work their ways into the other parts of life. Working from their distinct perspectives “one of assimilation and one of frequent migration between continents,” Catherine Khammouane and Samiha Alam will present sculptural pieces that express their view that “what is manmade is natural.” Artist talk 5-7 p.m. April 6; on view through May 4. Waller Gallery, 2420 N. Calvert St.

Pile of Craft
Head to Space 2640 to peruse more than 50 vendors’ wares at this 13th annual craft fest hosted by Charm City Craft Mafia. Past favorites such as Annie Howe Papercuts and Tiny Dog Press will be on hand, and several new vendors will be hawking everything from rosé jelly to 3d paper and watercolor plants for those whose thumbs aren’t quite green. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. April 27. Space 2640, 2640 Saint Paul St.

Music

Abdu Ali Album Release Show
Abdu Ali has one of the most powerful voices in Baltimore music right now, and this launch of their debut album, FIYAH!!!, is going to be one heck of a party. Catch Ali’s blend of punk, rap, and Baltimore Club from the Ottobar’s intimate stage before this New York Times-lauded artist really blows up. Doors at 8 p.m., show at 9 p.m. April 26. Ottobar, 2549 N. Howard St.

Theater

Come From Away
When planes were unexpectedly forced to land following 9/11, some 7,000 people found themselves stranded in the small town of Gander in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. What began with tragedy grew into a week of friendship and humanity among travelers in unfamiliar territory and the town that took them in. This award-winning musical based on their true story is not to be missed. April 23-28. The Hippodrome Theatre, 12 N. Eutaw St.

Pink Milk
Single Carrot is leaving its Remington home behind soon, but first they have another story to tell. This Technicolor reimagining of codebreaker Alan Turing’s life story from Chicago-based playwright Ariel Zetina explores Turing beyond his history-making work. Zetina is also working with Single Carrot to update the text and score for the first time since writing the piece in 2013. Gala opening April 27, runs through May 16. Single Carrot Theatre, 2600 N. Howard St.

Film

Making Cinema Matter: Masterclass with Sandi Tan
Singaporean filmmaker, zine publisher, and writer Sandi Tan returns to her cult roots for this workshop and screening of 2018’s Shirkers, which premiered and earned the World Cinema Documentary Directing Award at Sundance in 2018. Tan and her cohorts made what could have been a cult hit in 1992, when they were just teens, but their film was stolen by an American collaborator. Shirkers follows Tan back to Singapore to revisit the film, the American who stole it, and what both of them did for her dreams. Free screening at 7 p.m. April 5, masterclass April 6, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. The SNF Parkway, 5 W. North Ave.

Literature

CityLit Festival
CityLit is known for bringing great authors and events to bibliophiles of all stripes at their annual fest, and this year is no different. During this day-long celebration of all things literature, visitors can attend more than a dozen session and check out the Literary Marketplace to pick up a few more additions to their nightstand stacks. Stick around for keynote speaker Dani Shapiro, whose memoir, Inheritance, delves into what happens when family secrets find their way to the surface. 9:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. April 27. University of Baltimore William H. Thumel Sr. Business Center, 11 W. Mount Royal Ave.

Hilton Carter’s Wild at Home Book Signing
Local plant expert Hilton Carter’s Baltimore home is filled with more than 300 ferns, cacti, and other green friends. His lush designs on have earned him national attention, but he’s sticking close to home for this celebration of his first book, Wild at Home. Grab some friends and head to Trohv on Earth Day for a book signing, Q&A, and cocktails with the Instagram plant guru himself. 7-9:30 p.m. April 22. Trohv, 921 W. 36th St.

You know what they say: “April showers bring May flowers!” Whether we’re looking to restock our garden or beautify our window sill, this time of year has us feeling green. And you bet we’re heading to the closest garden centers to stock up on new plants. We sat down with Hilton Carter, go-to plant expert and author of Wild at Home, to make sure we’re set up for success this spring.

Lighting

According to Carter, the most critical aspect of being a plant parent is understanding the sunlight in your space. Always start with a little research. Your green thumb will depend on how much sunlight your specific type of plant needs, so note the level of light your room is able to let in and find the best plant for that amount.

Commitment

How much TLC can you devote to your plants? Plant neglect can be detrimental depending on the types of flora. Carter’s advice is to think of it like this: Are you a cat person or a dog person? More low-maintenance plants, such as succulents and snake plants, are more resilient than others, like ferns and air plants.

Water

There isn’t one simple, golden rule for watering. “It can vary,” Carter says. “It all depends on the type of plant and the size of the plant.” Small plants in bright light will dry up quickly and demand more frequent watering while larger plants in cool, shaded areas may take longer to dry out. A general tip is to wait until the top two inches of soil is completely dry before watering again.

Environment

While some plants are marketed as homebodies, you should always aim to keep them in as close to a natural environment as possible. Tropical plants need more light, water, and humidity. While cacti need cooler temperatures and drier air.

Potting

Always re-pot plants from the plastic garden center containers with fresh soil. Carter says to be mindful of the type of potting material. Terracotta clay pots are great for plants that like drier soil as the clay pulls out excess moisture. Plastic is ideal for plants that like their soil a little damper since the water will settle and take longer to dry out.

Bugs

A common side effect of keeping house plants are pesky bugs. Carter’s one fix is to stay on top of your plant, always checking for when a bug pops up, then wash it down with dish soap and a little rubbing alcohol. This should be repeated every few weeks or every time you water, depending on the severity of the outbreak.

Beginner Plants

Hilton recommends snake plants, ZZ plants, ponytail palms, or peace lilies for first-time plant parents. These are easier to keep and a bit more low-maintenance.

Where to Shop

There are many great local plant shops in Baltimore, but a more limited budget could steer you towards great plants at hardware store garden centers or local nurseries. Carter’s favorite spot is Valley View Farms in Cockeysville.

CLOSE ENCOUNTER: I’ve been in this building for two years. I started out in another apartment and then met my girlfriend, Fiona [that’s Dr. Fiona Vismans to her dental patients]. When I moved back to Baltimore from New Orleans, the apartment I lived in was [number] 335 and she lived in 334. Our first encounter was when she came knocking on my door asking me to turn my music down. We moved into this apartment together in August.

COMFORT ZONE: When we moved in, the first thing I thought was that we needed to make it comfortable. When I was growing up, my family had a space where everyone would go and you were able to watch TV and jump around on the sofa or whatever in the back of the house. But in the front of the house, there was the nice living room where everything was wrapped in plastic and fragile. For me, it was important that anything in my space is completely yours for the taking.

FLORA FIXATION: I grew up in the City of Baltimore having not much greenery around at all, but I have always taken to certain types of plant life. So I think this obsession, which now is an appropriate term, started about six years ago. I really like having them as a part of my interior styling. You need that sort of life to open up the space, to clean the air, and to make it feel like home.

GOING GREEN: I would say that I have about 120 plants in this house. The real mission is to eventually live in a greenhouse.

FAIR SHARE: We wanted to do a living wall, but, once we looked into it, budget-wise, it was way out of our realm. The inspiration for the wall in the hallway actually came from a trip to IKEA. I saw these spice racks and I thought they would be good for propagation. Now, not only are we filling the wall and making it green, but also we are able to take what’s in it and either re-pot it or give it out as gifts.

GREEN LIGHT: I knew I wanted to make a neon sign but wasn’t sure exactly what I wanted it to say. My girlfriend suggested that I do “house.” So I decided to do that in green so it represents the whole idea of a greenhouse.

MIX AND MATCH: A lot of my furniture is from West Elm, mixed with stuff from thrift stores and flea markets. Most of the pieces on the walls are things from films of mine or pieces done by friends.

ALONG FOR THE RIDE: The bike is now just art, but kind of has a funny story. My dad spent his entire summer working to save money to buy that bike in 1976. He tells me that because of that bike, he sold my mom on going out with him.

NEW LEAF: The plant canopy over the bed was an idea that I sketched out and my girlfriend was immediately onboard with. She is killer at macramé and so she created the hammock that the plant is in. It worked perfectly.